News

Fremont's California School for the Deaf football team finishes second in Sports Illustrated contest

By Chris De Benedetti,

The Argus

Posted:
11/29/2012 05:44:09 AM PST

Updated:
11/29/2012 05:46:20 AM PST

FREMONT -- The California School for the Deaf varsity football team got some good news and some bad news this week.

Tuesday, the Fremont high school finished second in the voting for a Sports Illustrated contest, losing out on the chance to receive a $25,000 grant and a trip to Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year ceremony in New York City. The contest's winner is Ishpeming High School in Michigan, whose place-kicker, Eric Dompierre, has Down syndrome.

The pair of schools were among 10 teams nationwide vying for that honor. Sports Illustrated this season featured CSD in "Underdogs," an online video series that focused on high school football teams battling major challenges.

The good news is that the Eagles on Tuesday were named National Deaf Prep Football Champion by the second organization in as many weeks, head coach Warren Keller said.

The National Deaf Interscholastic Athletic Association, comprised of athletic directors at deaf schools nationwide, awarded them the honor about a week after writers from Deaf Digest Sports did.

The Eagles just concluded their best season ever, setting a single-season record for wins after notching a 10-2 record and winning a North Central II/Bay League title.